ON MY FRAME

Finally have a new project to hook which was inspired by an antique rug drawn for someone else, but with changes to suit my historical and ancestral records.  This is what the rug looks like today.

You may recall my mentioning in a previous blog post the following rug was drawn for someone whose ancestors immigrated to America on this ship.  This is where my inspiration came from but with a few changes.

I decided to have horizontal stripes and instead of the Rebecca ship image am using an image of The Ark which brought my ancestors to America from England.  Actually the ship The Ark, was referred to as The Ark and The Dove since the two ships sailed together.  The Ark was the largest of the two ships.  You can read more of the history and passenger list HERE.

My ancestors listed in my father's research named Thomas Greene, who was among the passengers aboard The Ark.  My maiden name is Green, so at some point the 'e' was dropped from the spelling.  Whether it was by choice or perhaps even misspelled often due to the color green, who knows.

As I was in need of a new pattern decided this adaptation would be the one.  Sadly the photo of my rug doesn't come close to that of the colors in the Rebecca photo.  Yet in person the colors look just like it.

It's a rainy day so guess I'll go pull a few loops.  Happy Hooking.

Saundra

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METAMOPHOSIS OF THE SNOWMAN RUG

You've been waiting for this so will present the tedious transformation on what became the final look of the rug.  Below is a photo of what you saw on my blog 4 days ago.  Wasn't quite sure how it would look with the lighter plaid sections hooked around the dark letters, and snow on top of the upper letters.  Didn't work as the top letters are almost unnoticeable.

And then Betty made the suggestion of having snow colors at the top and dark colors at the bottom.  Good grief!  Why hadn't I thought of that?  So hooked the last two letters, "a n", in the light grey and the previous 3 letters in white.  

I preferred the white so the letters would stand out.  Thank you Betty! 

Okay, I know you're wondering ~ will I reverse hook the bottom words and hook them in the sky colors? Frankly not sure there is enough of the blue wool to do that.  If I use the lighter sections of the plaid there might be but think the words would get lost.  So the green will stay ... me thinks.  

Since there's still 4 months until that C word holiday Lauren doesn't like to see, read or hear about, there's time.  Stranger things have happened.  But today I'm calling this finished except for the binding.

And would you believe there still isn't a new project drawn and ready to go on my frame?  Nope, today in this sweltering heat I pulled some weeds, picked up limbs from last evening's storm and then about an hour later cut grass.  So I'm too dang tired to worry about a new pattern this evening.  I'll just start binding this one.

Happy Hooking, uh, and binding.

Saundra

JUST ANOTHER RUG SHOW

Have been busily working on the Snowman rug to finish it.  Had hoped to show it to you this evening but it isn't quite done.  Hopefully this post will entertain you with an antique rug show.  

Although I've a bad relationship with destructive squirrels, I love this 1907 squirrel in a flower garden.  Dimensions are  17 x 38.

This rug is still listed for sale if anyone is interested.  Said to be hooked late 19th or early 20th century and measures 35 x 54.5.

Essex Floral (27.5 x 44.5) given a date between 1880-1900.  Is part of the property of Cogswell's Grant.

I'm not a pink person, but must admit I adore this Fisherman's House rug.  It measures 28 x 41 and said to be hooked 19th century.  

Another 19th century rug is this geometric with flowers.  It almost looks like proddy.

A rug not just for the November holiday, but every day ~ "Let Us Be Thankful".  And honestly, despite whatever hardships we have had in our life, we all have something to be thankful for.

The auction house indicated this 1885 Shaker rag rug had a crochet foundation thru which strips are worked.  Very interesting and a lot of work to provide oneself a rug.  But they didn't have internet back then either 😊.  

 

Double stags (23 x 41.5) hooked sometime in the 20th century.

That's it for tonight.  I want to get back working on the Snowman rug so there's something to show you soon.  Tomorrow it is supposed to storm and sadly I've also a dental appointment.  Otherwise I'd not venture out.  Happy hooking.

Saundra

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AT A CROSS ROAD

It was inevitable tho I'd hoped my plan would work.  Thought that if I put a little snow on the top of the lettering at the very top, the dark sky background would work.  Sadly the lettering still doesn't show up all that well.

So, I'm wondering if I should bite the bullet and surround the lettering with the snow colors.  Think of what the comic books looked like with people's thoughts or speech encapsulated in a bubble.  Perhaps that would also balance the dark/light thing too.

Meanwhile, tonight I'll concentrate on hooking just background in the lower right side and think about any other alternative solutions to my problem.

Saundra

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RUG SHOW TIME

It's still officially summer, tho the temps the last couple days have been comfortably cooler.  So will show you some pieces still up for sale in the summer theme.  Here is Fisherman's Wharf circa 1920 (18 x 22).

Offered by the same antique shop are the following two pillows.

With summer comes fishing.  Here is someone's catch of the day hooked.

An applique penny mat dated late 19th or early 20th century measuring 23 x 33.

An 8 point star with hit and miss dated between 1900-1920.

A dog rug with fringe around the corners.  I've never hooked a rug and used the extra foundation as fringe.  Since these are colored perhaps it was purchased fringe or yarn used for that.  No date or dimensions were provided.

This is a very eye appealing rug, tho I don't want to hook it.  This is hooked and shirred with birds on border.  Made late 19th or early 20th century and measures 26 x 39.5.

With what time is left of the evening I'll go pull a couple loops on my rug.

Saundra

www.facebook.com/WoodlandJunctionHookedRugs

SNOWMAN UPDATE

Am thinking maybe it's time to put this one aside for now as I'm stuck.  Have painted hooked myself in the corner again.  Was proud of my design, had a plan, and now confused on the sky.  My first choice when color planning I won't show you as it ended up being way too dark.  My second choice which is hooked in spots thought might work...but think it is too dark for a winter sky too.  

Perhaps if I mingled lighter colors in some areas between the top letters it might work, I dunno.  After all, it is not in a contest, it's a gift.  Also hooked some of the same wool on top of the red house and between the tree and snowman.  That seemed okay.

Anyway here is what it looks like at the moment with the 2nd choice wool hooked in.  By the way, the last word is "Man".  The tail is not secure and looks like an h.

Below is a picture of the piece of wool I'm using.  At first glance it looks like it would work, right?

Questioning my wool choice I went to the messy wool room looking for alternatives.  Here is a picture of options and with my 2nd choice in the mix.  The top of both sides are what I've used so far.  But maybe I could used some of the grey/tan section on the right side to mix with the chosen 2nd choice around the letters to make the letters more visible??

I told Robin that this wouldn't be put aside until it was at the point of no return.  Think I've reached that point but something in me is wanting to push this endeavor further even tho it won't be needed until Christmas which is still 5 months away.  Since Cathy loves snowmen am sure she will be elated with the saying "There's No Man like a Snowman".

If there was a plus one drawn I just might throw it on the frame tonight.  But there isn't one.  However, there is one antique rug that has been in my mind for a while and may just be the next project.

Happy hooking.

Saundra

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AUGUST ANTIQUE RUG SHOW

Ahh, weekend at a lake cabin.  Notice the baby birds in tree?  Hopefully if you tap on the photo it will enlarge.  

A pictoral dated 1939 which appears to be maybe a stitchery on a piece of fabric.  I say that because of the selvage edges and perhaps hooking would be too overwhelming on faric.  It measures 30 x 45.

A bright red mill, no date provided nor size.

A black horse with a nicely hooked hit and miss border that's easy on the eyes, said to be hooked in the 19th century.

And a colorful 1908 lion which Robin will thoroughly look over.

A pair of horses hauling logs.  No date.

A beautiful geometric measuring 23 x 41 circa 1900's.

This next one doesn't even measure up the the geo above.  And could be considered an abstract geometric (or is that redundant?) circa 1900.  The auction house said the numbers hooked in was "155".  Or, could it be "SSI" or even "991"?  Only the original hooker knows for sure.  It measures 33 x 43.

A cat, bird, leaves and scroll.  No other info provided.

And finally, 1880 horse which you may have seen in one of the Kopp "Rugs Under Foot" publications.

Many years ago I hooked this rug and sold it in 2015 as I was divorced and needed money.  It appears I didn't do 'blotchy' at that time.

That's it for this show.  Back to hooking snow, but at least I'm hooking it and not shoveling it, lol.  Yet.

Saundra

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ANOTHER PEEK

Sorry to disappoint with just a peek, but I want something at the top to be completed before showing you the whole design.  Meanwhile, my eyes have been in a snow 'white out' 😵.  However, looking at what I've hooked perhaps I've really too much blue and gray for the hills and valleys where there should be more white, hmmm.

At one time there was a primitive cat drawn to the right of the snowman.  Plan was to hook it like a Siamese cat, as that is what my DIL and son have.  But it was too small to get any detail and didn't want the cat to overpower the snowman so eliminated it.  Main character, after all, is the snowman.

Will work more on the snow below, trees and something at the top before the whole reveal.  And in case you're wondering ... no I don't know what will be on my frame next.  Still nothing has made my heart go pitter patter but I keep looking.

Happy hooking.

Saundra

www.facebook.com/WoodlandJunctionHookedRugs

SALT WATER COWBOYS

Today was the 100th annual pony swim which is done by the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company.  The swim started very early this morning during slack tide.

Today the ponies will rest and tomorrow there will be an auction.  One such pony will be a 'buy back' and return back to Assateague to remain in the herd.  But some lucky people will also buy a pony to take home.  Those funds help with the cost of taking care of the herd, vet bills, and the Chincoteague Fire Department.  You read more about the event HERE.

This annual event also inspired the book "Misty of Chincoteague".  As a kid who loved horses it was one of the several horse books I read.  If you are not familiar with the book and would like to purchase one for a child you can read more about the story HERE.  It will also tell you the history of how the horses made their way onto Assateague Island, MD and Chincoteague, VA beaches.

FYI, the horses are regularly checked by vets all year on the islands.  When camping on Assateague they would often walk among those of us on the island and have even had one horse TRY to steal food from us.  A few years ago I did a brief blog post about pony penning and you can see old photos of a couple ponies, my departed husband Gary and me HERE.  There are many more horse photos in my album but am too lazy to receive it.  

Now I'm getting inspired to hook another horse rug.  But must get back to the snowman.

Saundra

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DOG DAYS OF SUMMER

It is hot, humid, no breeze and the air seems thick.  Yup, dog days of Summer.  So with that title thought I'd unleash the dog photos from the flash drive and move them to another photo file.  

A hooked and shirred rug measuring 26 x 49.5 but no date was provided.  Since it was hooked and shirred it is fair to say it is a safe design.

A Hutchinson design, Noble dog was hooked early 20th century (34.5 x 51).

Think this may be the first hooked Corgi I've ever seen.  Of course no date and no dimensions either.  Cute the way the hooker appears to have the dog's leash circling her fur baby to be the center of attraction.

Bet someone was upset when their rug with hunting dogs ended up needing repair.  That poor border and bet it is hooked on brittle burlap.

For Lauren, a curly tailed pug hooked 1898.  Perhaps one day she will use this shape to hook a rug for the Pug Rescue or as a memorial of the ones she fostered.

A quite primitive dog, leaves in corners and lots of background someone hooked.

The naïve dog rug below was surely drawn and hooked by a novice.  I'll bet Van Gogh would have loved it.

A half circle rug with chain-link style border.

Dog, squirrels, scrolls and stars hooked 19th century.  Dimensions are 31.5 x 66 and still listed for sale.

Not a hooked rug, but rather a dog fractur watercolor book plate early 19th century.  It is a small 2.75 x 4.5 and estimated the selling price to be around $3-4,000.   But instead sold for whopping $25,740!!!  Holy moly!

Back to the snowman.

Saundra

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